Computer-generated images are used in many different industries to model surfaces and solids. In the medical fields, computer imaging is used in combination with ultrasound imaging, magnetic resonance imaging or other medical imaging technology to display, analyze and organize the data these medical imaging technologies provide. For example, ultrasound machines use ultrasonic wave, i.e. sonar, to scan a patient's body. The data thus obtained is then analyzed by physicians to assist the physicians in their diagnosis and treatment of patients. Ultrasound can be used to view a fetus, blood-flow patterns in arteries, or to scan organs for irregularities such as cysts, etc.
Typically, a three dimensional image is displayed to a user by being projected on a two dimensional surface such as a screen or a print out. Computer systems have been device that permit the user to take different cross-sectional views of the image, thereby enabling a user to view a portion of the three dimensional image by choosing one or more cross-sectional views. Some computer systems permit the user to geometrically transform the image by rotating, translating and scaling the image, and also permit the user to take cross-sectional views at different orientations, such that the user can sequentially view the three-dimensional image using a series of oblique planes. Other computer systems take a different approach; instead of showing a cross-section of the three dimensional image, they "render" the image by making part of the image transparent or translucent such that points under those parts are revealed. In a maximum intensity display, for example, the highest intensity points along a line parallel to the line of sight of the user are shown, similar to an x-ray picture of a foot.
While three dimensional images provide a wealth of information, filtering out the information that is of interest from irrelevant information can be very time-consuming. There may be many different cross-sectional views of interest in a single three dimensional image. Each of these different cross-sectional views may contain only one point of interest. If all of these cross-sectional views must be stored and subsequently reviewed, then resources may be wasted in that a great deal of irrelevant information is being stored and must be filtered out again when the cross-sectional views are again reviewed. It may also be necessary to keep track of many different cross-sectional views of the three dimensional image in order to keep track of all of the points of interest in that three dimensional image.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method of analyzing computer-generated images in order to filter out as much irrelevant information as possible from the cross-sectional views used to display the information of interest.